Dams designed to leak

A leading engineer says all dams are designed to leak to a certain extent.

The Primary Industries and Water Minister, David Llewellyn, has denied the Meander Dam has sprung a major leak, after a nearby resident reported water gushing near the dam wall.

Chris Letchford, Head of the School of Engineering at the University of Tasmania, told ABC Local Radio, all dams are designed so they can be monitored for safety.

"Especially a new dam, as it's filling, will develop leaks," says Professor Letchford.

"There's lots of instrumentation inside of dams to monitor the passage of water through the porous media that makes a rock-filled dam, or an earthern dam or in fact a roller compacted concrete dam, such as the Meander."